Spirits Fate
by RuairiOfTheResistance
Summary: Ruairi is a prince long lost to his family. roy is a paladin dropout, trainined again by redire, the legendary knight. Mariota is an orphan, and was trained as a ranger. rian, a prince. needed for their skills, they will explore erinn more then most have.
1. Chapter 1

The Robed figure ghosted into the busy town of Emain Macha. He wore a gray and red muffler robe with his hood up. He made his way to the fountain, which stood in the center of the bustling city. A woman running at full speed accidentally bumped into him and knocked her hood off, though he was unaffected. She had black hair that was tied in a ponytail, and dark eyes. "I'm so sorry!" she said apologetically. The traveler mumbled something and the woman ran off, leaving the stranger on his own. He made his way to the restaurant and took off his hood. He had shaggy red hair that fell just above his eyes and red eyes and a face that showed no emotion. He ordered a steak and sat at a table, taking in his surrounding, seeing how much Emain Macha had changed since his departure. The guard, which now seemed fuller, had at least two sentries posted at every corner. The lights that lit up the city at night were off currently, for Palala, the sun, lit up the land. Gordon soon came up to him and set down the food. The stranger thanked him and looked around some more, seeing the paladin training ground where the magic school had once been. He rose abruptly, knocking the chair over behind him. He dropped ten gold on the table and stormed out of the restaurant, running into a few passersby as he did. The two guards near the area eyed him curiously and ran back to the castle

The stranger entered the graveyard quietly, walking around until he found what he was looking for. He looked at the gravestone of himself, hands crossed over the pommel of his broadsword. He looked at the writing on the bottom, 'In dedication to the lost prince Ruairi'. Ruairi looked up once and then back at the statue. It still held the sword in perfect condition from when he, Tarlach, and Mari had fought through the many dungeons, and it had the aura that it received from deflecting Cichol's blast. He looked at the grip of the statue on quickly brought his hand down in a chop on the hands, smashing the stone statue to bits from the wrist to finger, and grabbed the broadsword. _If I plan on using it again, I'll need to get a sheath made for it. And I'll need to hide the blade… _he thought bitterly. He opened his travel pack and sorted through the potions and food until he found a piece of leather and wrapped the blade and tied the sword to his belt. Setting off in the direction of the castle he disappeared into the morning mist.

As he left the graveyard only one other person had witnessed the event. The warrior turned and sped off, leaving the stranger to do as he pleased. Ruairi glanced at the castle as he approached the entrance. He was stopped by a forceful shove on his chest, had he not been trained as a dark knight beforehand he would have been sent sprawling. "State your name!" the man who stopped him boomed. Ruairi said nothing. "I said state your name, Damnit!" The man, who Ruairi now saw had shining silver armor and a blue cape said angrily. "Why don't you?" Ruairi said, still showing now emotion in his features but hinting towards anger in his voice. The man hesitated, _this stranger seems strange_, he thought "Aodhan, Captain of the Emain Macha Holy Guard." The knight said. "I'm here to see Rian," Ruairi replied. "You shall do no such thing!" Aodhan growled. "I can, and I will"

Ruairi lunged forward, catching Aodhan by surprise, as well as the guards, and slammed his elbow into the man's ribs. There was a sickening crack and Aodhan was sent sprawling, gasping for breath. he was alive. Ruairi paid no attention to the downed guard as he sprinted forward. a few feet from the castle gates he was corned by three guards. Two were behind him and one, obviously a high ranking one, was in front. He was trapped. He silently cursed and reached for the dagger sheathed at his collar. Before he could draw it he felt a rush of air by his ear and the front guard toppled over and lay unnervingly still. It took a moment to realize that there was an arrow embedded in the man's heart. Before Ruairi was able to respond in anyway a scream of surprise merged with agony made itself heard behind him. He spun in time to see a guard topple over and another cut down instantly by a young boy with a hooked cutlass. The boy turned to him then and took off his helm, revealing dark purple hair and tanned skin. He was only about 16. "I'm Roy and that ranger up there? She's my partner, Mari!" Ruairi looked to where the boy was pointed and sure enough a person was standing there, he couldn't see any facial features, for they were hidden by the shadow from her cloak's cowl. It was mottled grey and green, and she wore a set of a leather tunic and shorts with leather gloves and boots and carried a longbow with a quiver slung on her back with a heavy dagger at her waist and a throwing knife at her collar.


	2. Chapter 2

The ranger watched from the castle walls, bow in hand. In the courtyard a traveler in a gray robe was surrounded by knights. She lifted the massive longbow till her arm was level and took her right hand and reached into her quiver, she drew one of the twenty-four broad-head arrows that a ranger made and used. Adjusting the bows positioning one last time she focused on her target, the knight in front of the traveler, and in one fluent movement, with accuracy that could only be gained by thousands of hours practicing constantly, knocked, drew, and fired, making little to no sound throughout the entire process. The arrow sped forward and passed just inches from Ruairi's ear, and had he not been trained, he would've turned and it would have caught his jaw, then smashed through the man's armor and into his heart, sending him flying back a few inches, and he lay still on the stone. Without allowing a smile to cross her face she had another arrow knocked and the bow was at her side as she waited for the next part of the plan to work. She had known earlier that Ruairi was going to be here, thanks to Roy, and had planned the assault. She would climb to the wall as Roy would hide as a guard and they would wait for Ruairi to be surrounded. Then she would take out the first guard signaling Roy to attack. Then he would charge them with the two hand sword he used. So far she had done her part and had the second arrow on mere instinct and as a pre-caution. Roy had been delayed and she was nervous, but her extensive training said otherwise. As she began to question the plan she was told it worked as Roy charged down the courtyard and cut down the guards without any hesitation, something only a battle-hardened, blood-stained warrior could do. He looked at Ruairi and the ranger could hear them talking but not the exact words up until he said her name. "Mari!" he called, waving, as Ruairi looked at her suspiciously. It was obvious he was surprised at her equipment. _Not many rangers, all amateur archers around nowadays._ She thought with a slight laugh.

Mari landed softly on her feet after dropping from the eight-foot wall, a show of immense skill. She held up the all-important silver oak leaf amulet the signified her as a ranger and said in her normal, soft voice. "Mariota, Ranger Number 47, assigned to travelling with this moron." She said, adding the last part as a joke to Roy, which she followed up with a quick wink and smile at the angry sixteen year old. She herself was no older then fifteen but she liked to think of herself as better, thanks to her superior intellect, as she called it. She was nearly two thirds as big as the boy with absolutely no muscle whatsoever, which helped a lot in running and concealed movement. Ruairi looked at her suspiciously still and she realized her cowl was still shading her face. She pulled it off then. She wore a pair of folding glasses and had pale skin. Her silver hair fell to her shoulders and seemed as though it was permanently wet, and she had big, blue eyes with seemed as though they could stare into a person's mind and soul, tearing from them everything they thought to be private and personal. Ruairi's suspicions were confirmed as she said "I understand you are looking from Rian, Ruairi." She was calm through it all. "I am." He said. "WE'LL HELP!" Roy yelled, anxious to be part of the conversation. "We'd best be going," Mari said, shoving past Ruairi and walking to the castle doors, Roy followed. It was obvious that the girl was the brains and the boy was the brawn, Ruairi saw no problem in that. Not really understanding what had just occurred he followed, cautiously at first and then warming up and regaining his royal demeanor.


End file.
